Fell On Black Days
by Queen High Rolla
Summary: Paul Levesque's life goes from bad to worse...


Fell On Black Days  
Title taken off of the song Fell  
On Black Days By Soundgarden  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), or any of the character names used. I also do not own any character in this story, except for Matt and Jim Brown (Even though I wished I owned Sean Waltman.and Dave Bautista wouldn't hurt, either). So don't so me! Events that take place in this story are either completely fictional or are based on some factual truth.  
  
A massive hand pushed past the thick curtain that separated the backstage area. It was the line- the line where Triple H's life ended and Paul Levesque's live began. He heaved the heavy golden world championship belt over his shoulder, sweating profusely, and he could hear his heart hammering in his ears. Shortly after, his on screen cohorts in the faction Evolution joined him.  
"Hey, nice match," Ric Fleihr said as he patted Paul on the back with his equally sweaty palm. Even though Ric hadn't been involved, they both knew that it had indeed been a nice match. Ric turned to congratulate the other two participants, who were rookies when it came to experience in the WWE. He found himself disappointed to see neither Randy Orton nor Dave Bautista.  
"Hey, don't worry about it," Paul said through deep, labored breaths. "They got their own things to do."  
"Yeah, I guess your right." A long moment of silence. "Well, I guess I better be going."  
"Okay, see ya around, Ric," Paul said to childhood idol and began walking off. How exactly did life become so complicated? Paul was thinking hard, and he didn't even notice that he had bumped into some people as he walked. Voices that he couldn't put any faces to cursed and complained, but he kept on walking, deep in thought.  
How exactly did life get so complicated? It didn't make sense. Then again, nowadays, very little did. He didn't understand how the transition had occurred, and how quickly. His life had been absolutely perfect and then BAM- everything changes.  
Things had started to go downhill for Paul after his wedding to the bosses' daughter, none other than Stephanie McMahon. They had been engaged for a long time, dating for even longer, and sure, there was the tiny argument every now and then-but what couple didn't go through that? Then, after the marriage, everything changed. Stephanie became more irritable, Paul too, they began fighting over little things, little things would transform into big things, and then they would fight so long they wouldn't even remember what they fighting about to begin with. It was confusing and stressful. They had their problems, and at first, Paul had thought it was just a phase. After all, neither of them had ever been engaged nor married before. Maybe it just took some getting used to. But the fights didn't stop. They only progressed and got worse. Nothing physical; Paul would never hit a woman, but sometimes a verbal fight hurt more than a physical one did.  
Paul had thought of marriage counseling, but Stephanie, who rarely spoke to him anymore, had said that she wouldn't be caught dead getting counseling. So that was the end of that. Paul hadn't thought of any other alternatives.except divorce. Divorce? That seemed so silly; they hadn't even been married for six months. He didn't want his first marriage to go down in flames like that. He wouldn't let it die; not if he could help it. But could he? That was the question. Backstage, they were the friendly, loving, approachable couple, but when the doors were closed there was nothing but hatred and the spewing of venomous, hurtful words. It was kind of like that line: the one where on screen, you play this character, and then after the show, you're back to yourself again. This was what Paul had to deal with; what he had floating around in his head. That, and trying to get his wife to talk to him again.  
"Hello? Earth to Paul?" His best friend, Sean Waltman waved his hand in front of Paul's face.  
"Huh? Oh."  
"Are you okay, man? You've been staring out in space like that for a while now. I'm getting worried."  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"  
"You call spacing out all the time fine?"  
"I have a lot on my mind."  
"Like what?"  
"Like.too much to describe."  
"Okay," he exaggerated the word.  
"What?"  
"Somethin's up."  
"Not really."  
"Alright, fine. I have better things to do then sit here and try and pick at your brain for information. See ya around."  
"Sean-," Paul called out weakly, the words died on his lips as he realized he had nothing to say. Paul's friendship with Sean was complicated as well, which is why it fit him so well. He and Sean had been friends long ago, closer then than now. In that time period, Paul had broken up with long-time girlfriend Joanie Laurer and Sean fell in love with her. They got engaged, and it kind of strained the friendship. Paul was happy for them, well, as happy as one could be for his best friend and ex-girlfriend getting married. Luckily, it never happened. Well, not luckily for Sean. A lot happened, Sean hadn't really gone into detail when he had told him how they broke up, but they were on again and off again. And now they were off, for, as Sean put it, for good.  
So, in an attempt to put the pieces of his shattered life back together, Sean came back to the WWE. Paul was happy, and so were Sean's friends. Yet.he wasn't the same. He had.changed. He always seemed to be depressed, and rarely was happy about anything. Not the Sean he knew. He didn't like the change, yet, when he thought about it, he realized that he had changed too. He wasn't sure if it was for the better, though.  
Paul sighed and continued walking to his dressing room. Now, all he wanted to do was get changed and get out of here-but that would mean speaking to his lovely wife first. He didn't even want to think about it. Might as well do that first. He veered right until he arrived at the temporary "office" for Stephanie that night.  
For some odd reason, he felt as though he had to knock first, though that was crazy; they were married, he should be able to walk in whenever he wanted to. However, with his fist shaking for the sheer discomfort of this situation, he knocked.  
"Come in!" Stephanie called from behind the door. Paul didn't reply; he just simply opened the door.  
Stephanie's temporary office was cluttered with papers, most in un- neat, un-orderly piles. There was so many loose files that some had managed to find their way on the floor. Paul was surprised at this; Stephanie was normally a very neat individual, and Paul almost smiled because he knew this was having an effect on her too.  
She was furiously scribbling something on a piece of paper, and didn't even bother to look up at Paul as she spoke. "So what do you want?"  
"Well, I wanted to see if you were ready to go yet, but it looks like you're not."  
"That's right, I'm not. Unlike you, I have a lot of work to do. So go find yourself another ride to the hotel. And at that, you might as well find yourself another room too, because it isn't going to be with me."  
Paul groaned. "Alright."  
"Oh, and Paul?" Now she acknowledged him being there.  
"What?"  
"Put some clothes on." Paul was hoping she'd say something else, anything else. He looked down and realized he had forgotten to change out of his wrestling trunks into some normal clothes. See, that's from all the stress. Paul told himself.  
  
Stacy Keibler was sitting in the small, uncomfortable metal chair, her legs just beginning to make the cold metal warm. She ran a comb through her long, blonde hair, and knew that she was being watched. Not by any stalker though, but by her two co-workers Trish Stratagias and Amy Dumas. Trish was applying more make-up to her already heavily done face, and Amy was packing up some of her belongings in a black duffel bag. Not as oblivious as the women thought, Stacy continued brushing her hair.  
"So." Trish began, breaking the uneasy silence that had suddenly filled the women's dressing room. "Who is it?"  
"Who?"  
"You know who," Amy chimed in.  
Pure confusion consumed Stacy. What exactly were they talking about? "Sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."  
"You do so."  
"No, I don't."  
"Your new boyfriend. That's the reason you've been acting so weird, right?"  
"What new boyfriend?" Stacy asked, honestly not having a clue as to what they were talking about.  
"You mean you don't have a new boyfriend?" Trish asked, devastated.  
"No, not since Andrew," Stacy was talking about her ex-boyfriend Andrew Martin. "There's someone I like, but." At saying these words, she instantly turned her head in disgust. How could she talk about him as though he were just a teenage crush? It was so much more than that.  
"WHO?!" Trish and Amy screamed in unison.  
"I, um.I'd really just like to keep that to myself for now." Good, she thought to herself, I'm off the hook.  
"Aw, c'mon, Stac. You can tell me," Amy smiled.  
"No.not right now.um, I gotta go. Talk to you later!" She quickly packed up everything in her duffel bag and almost ran out of the room. Once outside of the room, she sped down the corridor, not slowing her pace. Once she was a good distance away from Trish and Amy, she had a moment to gather her thoughts. Besides, I don't want him knowing yet. Not like I'm gonna tell him anytime soon.maybe not ever. It would just.it would just screw up too many people's lives..She was right, it would ruin too much. But there was just one problem: she couldn't get over that she had fallen in love with Dave Bautista.  
  
Paul silently prayed that Sean was still in the arena- if he wasn't, he would be in trouble. He had gotten changed (he was going to eventually, and he did so regardless of what Stephanie told him), and because of that, he felt a tiny bit better. Now, all he had to do was get a ride and a hotel room and he was home free.  
Once more, Paul found himself immerged deep within his thoughts and walking blindly through the building. He was shaken out of this trance-like state as he heard Sean's voice. Paul lifted his head and saw his best friend talking with Dave Bautista.  
"Hey, Paul. How's the weather up there in space?" Sean asked sarcastically.  
"Ha, ha," Paul said dryly. And, almost as an afterthought: "Hey, Dave."  
"Hi, Paul," Dave replied. Paul worked with Dave, Ric, and a rookie named Randy Orton on-screen, but wasn't all too close with any of them off- screen, except for Ric. Paul didn't know Dave too well, but, for a reason unknown to him, he just rubbed Paul the wrong way. He couldn't explain it; it wasn't as though Dave had ever done anything that Paul might resent him for; he just didn't like him.  
"Look, Sean, I kinda need your help for something." Paul began. He hoped that would be enough of a sign for Dave to leave, but no such luck.  
"Sure."  
"All right, I'll see ya guys later," Dave said, walking off with the help of some dirty looks from Paul.  
"So what do ya want?"  
"I, um.look, somebody..um, somebody stole my car, and I kinda need a ride."  
"Somebody stole your car?!" Sean asked, incredulous.  
"Uh, yeah. Horrible, I know. And now I can't get a ride back to the hotel."  
"What about Stephanie?"  
"What about her?"  
"Can't you just leave with her?"  
"Yeah, but.she's uh, she's in a meeting right now."  
"Oh."  
"So?"  
"Sure, why not."  
"Thanks."  
"Yeah, yeah."  
Paul had to admit, he wasn't expecting the uneasy silence that awaited him for the duration of the ride to the hotel. It was eerie how quiet it was, and each creeping second made him feel more and more uncomfortable. All of a sudden, the silence was broken as he sighed loudly, just to get Sean's attention.  
"What?"  
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Paul asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible, to create a conversation.  
"Why?"  
"Just wondering."  
"I'm trying to think who stole your car." Ouch! Not what he had expected to hear, or wanted to hear. That was a simple lie; the only quick excuse he could come up with to get a ride. And Sean actually believed him! Paul was shocked at that.  
"Nah.uh.don't worry about that."  
"I find it hard to believe that you're not even the least bit worried about your car."  
"I am, I am. Trust me, I'm worried too. Just.I, um.you know, I'm trying not to think about it too much."  
"Okay." Sean nodded. Suddenly, Paul's cell phone rang. He flipped open the top of the metallic phone and answered.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey, Paul. It's me, Kev," Kevin Nash said, his voice slightly fuzzy from the bad reception.  
"Oh, hi," Paul said excitedly, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because this was an opportunity to have a conversation with someone who wasn't so.unhappy, which is exactly how Paul would describe Sean these days. How he wished he knew more about the situation between him and Joanie. Sean only raised an eyebrow at seeing Paul act this way, though Paul didn't seem to notice.  
"Anyway, me and Mike were thinkin' about going to a coupla clubs tonight; you and Sean game?" Again, annoying fuzz in the background.  
"I am. Hold on a sec," Paul put his phone in his lap and turned to Sean. "Hey, Mike and Kev are going out tonight and wanna know if you wanna come."  
"No." Paul had barely managed to get the word "come" out before Sean snapped at him.  
"Okay," He said, almost nervously. "Nope, just me."  
"Just you? What's the matter with Sean?"  
"Got me."  
"Alright. I'll meet ya at the hotel parking lot at one."  
"Kay, see ya then. Bye." Paul snapped back up his phone and sighed again.  
"Aren't you gonna stretch your legs or something?"  
"What? Why?" Paul was baffled by the question.  
"Well, it's an awfully long walk."  
"I get it, I get it. You're not my chauffeur."  
"Really?" Sean asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.  
"Look, I know you're mad at me because you think there's something goin' on that I'm not telling you about, but that's just not the case."  
"More specifically something goin' on between you and Steph."  
"Me and Steph? No, no. And even if there was, it's none of your business."  
"Okay, 'even if there was'."  
"There isn't. Why does it bother you so much, anyway?"  
"Because when I got re-hired, I told you everything that had happened to me since I left the company before. And you won't even admit that you're having a little problem in your perfect marriage."  
"First of all, you didn't go into a great amount of detail with what you told me. In fact, you were extremely vague. And secondly, my life is far from perfect, same goes with my marriage." Again, that awful silence. Paul didn't know what to do this time, and didn't care; the hotel couldn't be far from here.  
Paul just sat, consumed by the quietness. He decided to pass the rest of the time looking out the window. There were millions of lights on a black canvas, blurring glows of white and red as they drove by. Paul was surprised by the sudden change of scenery as Sean pulled over on a nearby street.  
"Uh, dude. This isn't the hotel."  
"I know. But look."  
"What?"  
"See that?"  
"No. See what?"  
Sean pointed his finger this time. "That's your car," He pointed to an innocent-looking young man. "And that's the guy who stole it." Before Paul could open his mouth to protest, Sean was out of the car and trash talking at the young man.  
"No! Sean, wait!" But it was too late, for Paul could already hear the ear-piercing siren of police cars nearby. Paul cursed under his breath and hopped out of the car only to see the police cars pull up inches from his feet. This can't be good he thought to himself.  
  
"Okay, look Officer, I can explain," Paul began once they were down at the police station. The police officer was old, with brown hair that was turning gray at the roots, and glasses. His once shining badge displayed the name Jim Brown on it, but now it was worn out and losing its luster.  
"Go ahead," Officer Brown said.  
"Okay, well ya see, my car was never stolen. I just said it was." Paul's voice suddenly shrunk and became weak. He found it hard to speak and stopped there.  
"What?!" Sean screamed, rising out of the wooden chair underneath him.  
"Calm down," the Officer said.  
"What do you mean the car wasn't stolen? Are you saying that you lied to me?"  
"Um, yeah."  
"Why?"  
"Because it was the only excuse I could think of to get a ride to the hotel."  
"So, wait a second, let me get this straight. Steph and you are having problems, so she probably says something like 'go get a ride from Sean' or something, you know that in order to do that you would have to admit that you are having problems with her, so instead you lie."  
"Yeah.sounds about right."  
"I knew I saw your car in the parking lot!"  
"You did." He turned to Officer Brown. "So, as you see, Officer, this is clearly a big misunderstanding. And if anyone should be penalized, it should be me."  
"Well, Mr. Waltman does have a record, and he did hurt that innocent man, so we'll just do some community service."  
"Community service?! No way! Make him do it."  
"C'mon, Sean," Paul said, pulling him out of the police station.  
The freezing night air greeted them, and, even inside the surprisingly frigid police station, being out here made it seem like a sauna. The wind howled, almost evilly, and the nearby trees rustled as a result. Paul continued trudging in the snow, trying to keep up with Sean, who kept a steady pace, despite the ice and snow. He got to his car first, unlocked it, and got in. A knot tied up in Paul's stomach as he realized what was going on.  
A few moments later, loud hip-hop music filled the air, and Sean rolled down the window. "Like I said before, hope ya stretched your legs." and with that, drove off. Paul had known Sean was going to leave him here, but the fact that it actually happened shocked him.  
"Great, just great," he said, seeing his breath in front of him. He sighed, took his cell phone out of his coat pocket, and dialed.  
  
A few hours later, Paul sat in his hotel room, alone. He had called Kevin and Mike, and after being lectured over the phone, they had agreed to give him a ride to the hotel. He had no longer felt like partying. He felt bad for what he did; he had never meant for it to go that far or else he would have thought of a more clever lie. He thought of calling Sean, but decided against it out of fear of making the situation worse than it already was. He had also thought of calling Stephanie, and decided it would be good to know what she was doing. He waited, hearing the phone only ring. C'mon, c'mon. Pick up.pick up!  
"Hello?" Wow, she must've been too busy to check who was calling, because she actually answered.  
"Hi, Steph. It's me. I, um.uh, you leaving any time soon?"  
"Yes. Very soon, actually. In fact, I'm putting things away right now. Did you get a room okay?"  
"Yeah."  
"Good. Oh, and by the way, I heard what you did to Sean. Smooth. Real smooth, Paul."  
"You did? How?"  
"I have my resources."  
"Who else knows?"  
"I don't know."  
"I sure hope he doesn't tell everybody."  
"He might."  
"Don't coax him into doing it. And I hope you know, that it's all your fault."  
"Why is it my fault, Paul?" She was beginning to sound irritated.  
"Because you want nothing to do with me. If I remember correctly, wasn't it you that started to put on the show that nothing is going on between us, that we're not having problems? What happened with that, Stephanie? It got too hard to pretend so you just gave up?"  
"No, nobody knows about us, except for Sean thanks to you. But nobody else does."  
"Yeah, well, they're about to."  
"I don't care. It'll just be your reputation that goes down the drain."  
"My reputation? I hardly care what people think of me. You on the other hand.well, you base your whole self-worth on what others think of you. I'm sure Daddy'll be real happy to know that we're having problems."  
"Fine. Do that. Ya know what'll happen? He'll be upset, think that you're the one causing all the problems, which, by the way, you are. We'll get a divorce and you'll end up getting fired. So go ahead." The line went silent. Paul hadn't hung up, he was just speechless, which was exactly was she had intended to do. "What's the matter? Don't have much to say, now, huh, Paul?"  
"I gotta go. Bye."  
  
"And now, thanks to him, I gotta do community service," Sean explained to Dave at the gym that next morning.  
"Uh-huh. And the officer didn't see it fit to make Paul do any community service?"  
"Nope."  
"Oh, too bad."  
"When am I gonna have time?"  
"I dunno. Guess you'll havta make time." Just then, Stacy walked by the two men. She was in her workout clothes: a sports bra and shorts, but still looked beautiful. Her intention wasn't to flirt with Dave; it just happened that they were in the same place at the same time. But why ignore him? With that in mind, Stacy approached him.  
"Hi Dave," she smiled and continued walking. She was afraid she was start blushing if she actually started talking to him, or made eye contact.  
"Hi Stacy," Dave replied, uneasily, because he wasn't expecting that.  
"What was that all about?"  
"Got me," Dave looked at Sean confusedly, seeing his friend narrow his hazel eyes. He tried to look in the direction Sean was, and then saw what, or whom, he was glaring at: Paul was heading this way.  
"Sean, we need to talk," he sounded angry, and Sean had no idea why he would be; after all, the only reason he had been at the police station was to get Sean out of the mess he had put him in.  
"I have nothing to say to you, Paul. So get out of here."  
"Listen, Stephanie heard about what happened last night, and I know you told her."  
"Yeah, 'cause I have nothing better to do with my time than talk to your wife about everything you do to me. That's right, Paul."  
"Well, then, how did she find out?"  
"I dunno, and quite frankly, I don't care. The only person I told was Dave," Paul looked up at the bulked up Dave Bautista.  
"So get out of here," he broke into the conversation, a conversation in which Paul hadn't wanted him in.  
"Make me," Paul again looked at the huge man standing before him. As muscular and well built as Paul was, he could never take on Dave .and win.  
Dave was surprised that Paul wasn't backing down. "I don't think you want me to do that."  
"Go ahead," the larger man shook his head; Paul was either an extremely good fighter or just really stupid. "C'mon, Dave. You started this, now ya havta finish it," Dave was silent; Sean watched just as silently in the background. "C'mon!" Paul was getting angry now and began taunting him by throwing a few punches at an invisible opponent. "Unless you're scared."  
"I'm not scared; I'm just not losing my job over some stupid fight," he and Sean walked off.  
"Yeah, go on! Run away! Excuses, excuses!" Paul called after him; he cheeks suddenly turned red with embarrassment as he realized that nearly everybody in the gym was staring at him. "Heh-heh," he laughed nervously.  
Paul wasn't sure why he had wanted to fight Dave so badly, or if he would have actually fought him at all, had the battle actually ensued. He didn't quite know what he was thinking; he definitely wasn't in his right mind lately; he hadn't been in a long time. He was just glad that things hadn't gone any farther than they did.  
  
"Wow, Paul. Instead of me doing it, you're killing your reputation all by yourself. Congratulations," Stephanie said later that day at the arena. Paul was leaning lazily in the doorway. She had called him there after hearing of the confrontation he had had with Dave earlier. What was with him lately?  
"Yeah, well.It was his fault," Paul hung his head in shame, not that he had remorse for what he did, just that the words he had just said sounded so childish.  
"I don't know why you're doing it. It's been bothering me, and, on top of all the other work I have to do, I've been thinking about it all morning. The only thing I can come up with is that you're causing trouble for attention."  
"That's the only time you think about me, Steph. And it's not like we even fought. We exchanged some words, that's all."  
"Yeah, well, from what I've heard from various employees, they weren't friendly."  
"I'm not denying that. Nothing happened, so forget about it."  
"Fine. Only after you admit you're doing it for attention."  
"No. I refuse to admit something that's not true!" Paul detested.  
"Have it your way. But, I'm telling you right now, we have a new guy coming in, so I'm gonna be very busy. Try not to do anything too drastic, kay?" She said, her voice sounding almost friendly, but Paul wasn't falling for it.  
"Yeah, okay," Paul turned, suddenly remembering what she had just said. "Hey, what new guy?"  
"What's it to you?"  
"Well, I was just wondering."  
"Good for you. I'm surprised those brain cells of yours are still actually functioning."  
"Sarcastic today, are we?"  
"Ya know, I take back the brain cells thing. Because the guy we just hired has the same last name as you."  
"What? You mean, he's related to me?"  
"Is that your final answer? Yes!"  
"What's his name?"  
"Matt."  
Paul growled and suddenly looked very bitter. "I don't like him. Always tried to be better than me."  
"Oh," Stephanie basically withdrew comment because she didn't really know what to say. "Well, then, this should be interesting. Anyway, like I said before, I have a whole lotta work to do, so why don't you go take a walk."  
"Yup."  
"Oh, and Paul?"  
Paul turned his head and looked back at his wife, who seemed a little too amused with this situation. "What?"  
"You can leave with me tonight. I don't really want you to take another one of your friends to jail," Paul rolled his eyes and mimicked Stephanie as he walked out. Stephanie, oblivious to all this because she could only see the back of Paul's head, just wondered: "What, no thank you? Hmph, that's rude," and went back to work.  
Paul went to the dressing room he was sharing with a couple of other co-workers and sat down in the cold, blue metal chair and ran his huge fingers through his dirty blonde hair. How could this be happening? Why was life going from bad to worse? Why did he let things degenerate this far? How could he?  
"Hey, Paul? You all right?" Mike said, putting his hand casually on his friend's shoulder. Accompanying him was Kevin, who had an equal look of concern on his face.  
"I, um.yeah."  
"Something you wanna talk about?" Kevin asked.  
"No, it's just that.just that, my cousin joined the company, and."  
"Cool! Wow, a relative joined the company? Why're you so depressed?"  
"Because I hate him."  
"Hate is such a strong word, buddy. And besides, he's family."  
"Kev's right, man. He is family."  
"Yeah, but..oh, I just don't think him working here is a very good idea. Maybe if me and Steph weren't at each other's throats, I would've known about this sooner and maybe even could've had some say in it, but it's too late now. I mean, he just.well, we never got along very well."  
"Uh-oh. I smell a fight. For real, this time," Paul narrowed his eyes at Kevin's comment. "Sorry."  
"Well, when was the last time you've seen him?" Mike asked, purposely trying to change the subject.  
"Wow, I don't even remember."  
"If it's been that long, then maybe he's changed, ya know?"  
"Ha, doubt it."  
"Anyway, you clearly need some time alone, so I'm gonna go, okay?"  
"Sure. See ya guys later." Kevin and Mike then exited the room, and Paul was left all alone, like he so often was these days.  
  
Dave had been getting ready to go over the plans of his match with his "opponent" for the night, Mark Henry, when he saw Stacy all alone down the hallway. He took a detour and decided to talk to her. Not only did she look lonely, but also he had been meaning to ask about this morning, anyway.  
"Hi, Stacy," Dave said once he reached her.  
"Oh, hi."  
"Hey, uh, look. This may seem kinda weird, but what was up with this morning?"  
"What? Is it illegal to say hi to somebody?" she said, more angrily than she had intended to, and she instantly regretted it. The last thing she wanted to do was snap at Dave. "Sorry about that."  
"It's okay. That's what I thought, anyway. It was just kinda weird, you never really talked to me before."  
"I know," she said, blushing. Oops, another thing she hadn't intended to do, but can one really control when they blush?  
"You okay?" He asked, concernedly.  
"Yeah, fine. I, um, uh, gotta go. Bye!" She quickly ran off. Why had she done that? both of them wondered, nearly simultaneously.  
"She likes you," Sean said, startling Dave because he hadn't known he was there.  
"Man, why did you do sneak up on me like that?"  
Sean shrugged his shoulders. "Either that, or you freak her out."  
"Probably the latter."  
"Hmm, probably," with all of this talk about women, Sean couldn't help but think of Joanie. It's not like he ever didn't not think about her; sometimes he tried not to, but he just couldn't. But, with his new schedule, he doubted he would ever see her again.  
"Thinking about Joanie?" Dave asked. It was scary; Dave hadn't even met her, yet he knew all about her from Sean. In fact, he knew her so well; Dave said if he ever saw her he would know.  
"How'd ya know?"  
"You've got that 'thinking about Joanie' look."  
"Probably do."  
"I'd like to meet her one day," Dave said, as though he were talking about a lifelong idol rather than his friend's ex-girlfriend.  
"I'd like to see her again one day," was Sean's only reply.  
"You will."  
"How do you know?"  
"'Cause I just know. Don't doubt me. You'll see her again."  
  
The rest of the day seemed like such a blur for Paul. Maybe it was because he had so many things on his mind, and there were really a lot of things on his mind. On top of having to worry about his downhill marriage with Stephanie, his friendship with Sean, keeping himself out of any kind of trouble, but now he had to worry about dealing with his cousin whom he absolutely despised. What was he going to do? Chances are, if he had those kinds of answers, he would be one of the happiest men in the world. But that was just not to be.  
The night was boring, but, if one's in a boring mood, everything tends to be boring, right? Paul wasn't sure what he was going to do. Oh, how he longed for a friend to talk to right now! But you really screwed that up, didn't ya, Paul? he asked himself as his mind yet again drifted to thoughts about Sean. Oh well, he would wait a while, apologize, and everything would be all right. Hopefully. That night, Paul just prayed that everything would eventually straighten itself out.  
"Hi! You must be Matt! I'm Stephanie McMahon. I'm one of the writers here at the WWE," Stephanie said that morning, trying to be as upbeat as possible. Matt Levesque was a tall man, a few inches taller than his cousin. He was more muscular, had blue eyes, and his hair was a little browner than it was blonde. And he doesn't have that nose, Stephanie thought to herself. Was it wrong that she thought he was a wee bit more attractive than her own husband? Yes, she answered for herself.  
"Ms. McMahon?" She almost didn't hear him calling her name. She was so used to be calling Mrs. Levesque that she nearly didn't recognize the name she had all her life. Besides, calling herself Mrs. Levesque now would be a little too confusing.  
"Sorry. Anyway, if you want to know what your match is for tonight, you'll have to talk to Pat Patterson, one of our bookers. But don't worry, that match is going to be a black match. Also, you should definitely talk to Daddy-er, Mr. McMahon. Um, Paul is here somewhere, I'm not sure where though. Try and make some friends, and you can talk to me anytime you want if you have any questions."  
"Okay," Matt said, and was on his way out the door.  
"Wow, he's hot," Stephanie whispered to herself once he was out of earshot.  
  
"Sean, listen. We need to talk," Paul said later that morning.  
" Why is that all you say to me nowadays?" Sean sounded irritated, and didn't really want to see him right now. Once he realized that he wasn't giving up, he gave in. "What is it now, Paul?" He actually stopped and turned to face him. Good sign.  
"I-I'm sorry about before."  
"I don't care."  
"I know you don't but.I can tell you something very important."  
"I don't wanna hear anything from you."  
"But it's very important," Paul gritted his teeth in frustration and forced the words to come out in this state. Why was Sean being so stubborn?  
"Isn't that blackmail?"  
"Yeah, but."  
"Fine. It better be good."  
"Oh, it is. Saturday night, we're goin' to LA for a house show," Sean quickly whirled around and started walking once again. "Hey! Where ya going?"  
"I thought you said you had good information!"  
"Don't you see? You can see Joanie again! Tell her you're still crazy about her, and then you guys can get back together again! Duh! Use your head!"  
"Uh-uh," Sean nodded his head. "Ain't gonna happen."  
"Why not?"  
"Because it's not."  
"Why not? C'mon, it'll be fun. I'll even go with you!" Wow, was he that desperate that he would see Joanie again just so Sean could be happy? Apparently so.  
"Absolutely not. It would just be me. I have nothing to say to her; things wouldn't work out anyway. It's pointless. I appreciate the thought, but no thanks. And, just because of everything else you're dealing with, you're forgiven."  
"Thank you. But c'mon. Think about it. We have such a busy schedule, that who knows when we're gonna be anywhere near LA again? It could be years. Think about it, Sean. Years."  
"Well, when you put it that way.I guess it wouldn't hurt."  
"There ya go! Good! I won't go."  
"Right."  
"So did you meet my cousin yet?"  
"Yeah, nice guy."  
"Really?"  
"No, real stuck up. Just like you the first time we met."  
"Hey!"  
  
Stacy had decided it was time. She had hidden her feelings long enough, and before Dave thought that she was a complete weirdo, she had better tell him the truth. Deep breathes, Stac. It'll be fine. If you just tell him.but what if he rejects me? She hadn't thought of that possibility before. What if he did reject her? All these long months she had been feeling for him, she had always had the perfect picture of the two of them madly in love with each other. There was never any rejection, never any heartbreak. After all, Dave was married, so she just had to brace herself for the very real possibility that he could reject her. And then what? I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there.  
She took a deep breath, and knocked on the door of the dressing room she knew he was in.  
"Yeah?" It was Chris Irvine who answered the door.  
"Hi, Chris. Is Dave there?"  
"Why?"  
"Is he or isn't he?" She was getting mad now. This was her moment, their moment, and he wasn't going to ruin it.  
"What's going on?" Dave asked, peaking his head out of the doorframe.  
"Can I speak to you for a moment?"  
"Sure," Dave said unsteadily. "What's up?" He asked once she led him to an empty hallway.  
"I need to tell you something. Something that's been eating at me for the longest time."  
"Go ahead."  
"Dave, I know this is gonna screw up lots of things, but I just can't pretend anymore. I just can't hide my true feelings anymore."  
"Okay.." Dave said, obviously confused, and who could blame him?  
"Kay, here goes.Dave..I'm in love with you."  
"What?" he was speechless.  
"I know," she interjected before he could get another word in. "I know that sounds bad, but it's true."  
"No, it's not bad.it's just..unexpected," She nodded her head knowingly.  
"Sorry," she began to apologize. "I.I probably shouldn't have told you.and now I regret it.I'm-" Her words died as he kissed her lips passionately. She hadn't been expecting it, and, quite frankly, neither had he. She wrapped her arms around his massive neck as his tongue slipped into her mouth, and hers in his, deepening the kiss. His arms snaked around her, holding her, protecting her. The kiss ended, but then he did it again, this time with more passion. Her fingers gently felt the taut muscles of his back as his lips caressed her neck. She leaned her head up against the wall as a moan escaped her lips. His body was pressed up against hers, and he could feel her heart pounding from her breast as his hands roamed her body.  
A sound startled the both of them, and that perfect moment of bliss Stacy had been dreaming of for so long abruptly ended, but not in a bad way.  
"I.um." She tried to speak, but found herself unable to think clearly. She attempted to walk, but her knees were wobbly, and she nearly fell.  
Dave caught her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You okay?"  
"Yeah, I just." She gazed into his eyes, and stopped speaking. "So where do we go from here?"  
"I don't know, and I don't care. Let's just enjoy the moment while it lasts, ya know?" Stacy simply just nodded her head in agreement as Dave stood there with her, lost for words.  
  
Paul was very happy that things were okay with Sean again. He just couldn't stand him being mad at him, perhaps because he really needed a friend right now, and just wasn't getting one. For whatever the reason, he was glad that things had worked out. Now he hoped that things worked out between Sean and Joanie. He had never seen Sean this depressed in all the long years he had known him. Yeah, but bein' in love does that to you, Paul thought to himself. He knew that he himself hadn't ever been so down before in his life.  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my ol' cousin Paul! Good to see ya, buddy!" Matt's familiar voice called to him. Paul turned his head, and sure enough, there he was.  
"Oh..hi." Paul began uneasily.  
"What're you so happy about?"  
"Just.ya know. So, you finally made it the big leagues, huh?"  
"Yeah. If ya ask me, I should've been here a long time ago. It took them too long to recognize my talent," he boasted.  
"I'm sure."  
"So, what've you been up to lately?"  
"Nothing. You?"  
"Nothing either. I've just been trying to get here. But now that I am, well, it's not so special," Again, that arrogant attitude. Paul just hoped that he didn't come off like that.  
"Oh, well."  
"Lemme just say, though, your wife, wooo, she's hot."  
"Hey!" Paul took offense to that.  
"Sorry, dude. Just stating the obvious. So."  
"So what?" Paul couldn't believe how uncomfortable he felt around his own flesh and blood.  
"Aren't ya gonna introduce me to all of your friends? Unless you don't have any," Matt seemed very excited, but Paul was the exact opposite.  
  
"Um."like Paul was going to introduce him to any of his real friends.  
"Yeah or no, Paul? 'Cause I have better things to do then sit around and wait for you to answer me."  
"In that case, then why don't you go do some of those better things?"  
"Fine, I will. And to think, I actually tried to be nice to you."  
"Whatever," Paul shrugged his shoulders as he watched his cousin walk off.  
  
"Wow, what just happened?" Stacy asked as though she had just regained consciousness.  
"Well, first I walked up to you, and then you began speaking." Stacy narrowed her eyes at him. Dave only smiled.  
"I'm still in shock that any of this happened at all.I mean, it just went so fast."  
"Well, I could help refresh your memory," Dave said, wrapping his arms around her.  
"Alright," she smiled. "But not here. Let's go get a hotel room."  
"Sounds like a plan to me."  
  
Matt had been walked down the hall, and he was livid. How could Paul treat him like that, like he didn't care? That was the problem: Paul was jealous because he knew that Matt was better than him. Yeah, that's it. That's why he treats me like that, Matt told himself as he walked. With all of that anger inside of him, he hardly noticed as he bumped into Stephanie McMahon.  
"Ooh, Ms. McMahon. I'm really sorry about that."  
"Matt, are you okay? You seem really upset about something," she completely disregarded the fact that he bumped into her.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little angry at Paul. But what else is new? Are you all right? I did, after all, bump into you."  
"I'm okay. It was just a little accident. What exactly did Paul do to you, anyway? Because he has been causing a lot of trouble lately just to get my attention."  
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Nothing much, though. He just wouldn't introduce me to his friends. By the way, what kind of trouble?"  
"He wouldn't? I wonder why? Don't worry, though, Matt, you're not missing anything there," Matt chuckled at that. "Anyway, first he lied and caused his best friend to go to jail, and then he almost got in a fight with a guy at the gym a few days ago for no reason at all whatsoever."  
"Oh, that's horrible."  
"Yeah, but, like I said, he's doing it for attention."  
"Why would he need to act out to get some attention from you?"  
"Because we're having some problems."  
"Sorry."  
"Oh, it's no big deal. But thanks for your concern."  
"Not a problem. I do care. And, if you ever need someone to talk to, just remember, I'm here."  
"I will."  
  
"I hate him," Paul said, breaking the silence again as they drove along. It was now Saturday night; the big moment had come. Except this time, instead of the silence being because the two friends were angry at one another, it was because Sean was very nervous. Sean hadn't seemed to hear what Paul had just said, and, in fact, he had said it just to get his attention. "Yoo-hoo! Earth to Sean! You're beginning to remind me of myself, here."  
"What, oh, sorry Paul. Hate who?" So he had heard him.  
"Matt."  
"Oh, why?" Sean asked, though Paul could tell, he couldn't care less.  
"He's just really arrogant, saying that he should have been here years ago. Ha. Yeah, right. But I'll shut up now."  
"What should I say?"  
"Well, it doesn't really matter because no matter what you think you're gonna say, you'll forget it once it's time to say something."  
"Yeah, that's true."  
"Nervous?"  
"I've never been more nervous in my life."  
"Don't worry. Just tell her the truth: that you're still in love with her, that you've been thinking about her twenty-four seven, and then some."  
"Yeah, but what if it's not enough?"  
Paul hesitated for a moment; he wasn't sure how to respond to that. "It'll be," he finally answered.  
"I hope so."  
"It will be. Look, try not to get so nervous. Just calm down, relax, take a deep breath or two. You'll be fine, trust me."  
"Okay." For a long time, they drove once again in silence. All through this time, a million thoughts were running laps through Sean's mind. What exactly was he going to say? What if she didn't want to see him? What if she'd moved on and got a new boyfriend? Sean was trying not to think about these questions too much, tried to shove them away to the back of his mind. But they were still there, bothering him. He just hoped that after everything they'd been through, she still felt anything for him.  
Suddenly, the car stopped. Sean had been hoping that the ride had been a little longer, so he would have more time to get some of his thoughts together, but no such luck. Now was the time. It was now or never.  
"Hey, we're here," Paul said, thinking maybe that Sean hadn't realized that.  
"Yeah, I know."  
"You gonna do this? Or are you gonna back down?"  
"Nope, I've gotten this far, now I just gotta keep going."  
"Good luck."  
"Thanks," a long pause between them. "Oh, and Paul?"  
"Yeah, Sean?"  
"Don't wait up."  
"Gotcha." The rest of what happened seemed more like a dream than reality. He just wanted another moment, but as though in a dream, his hand went to the door handle and he opened the car door and got out without wanting to. Paul gave him a thumbs-up, but Sean hardly noticed. He walked up to the apartment complex, and up to her room, his heart pounding nearly out of his chest with each step he took. He arrived in front of her door, and stopped dead. C'mon, it's now or never, he reminded himself. Slowly, his shaking fist knocked on the door. Once, twice, three times. Maybe she's not home? Sean thought to himself, but, just then, the door opened. Sean's hear skipped a beat once he saw her, not only because she looked so beautiful, but because he hadn't in such a long time. Such a very long time; it had felt like centuries. She smiled at him, and opened her mouth to speak.  
"Hi, Sean," she actually seemed happy to see him.  
"Hi," he still sounded very nervous.  
"You okay?" She had noticed that, too.  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
"You wanna come in?"  
"Sure," he walked into her apartment room.  
"So, can I get you something to drink?" She asked after he seated himself on the nearest couch.  
"Nah, that's all right."  
"Okay," she sat down beside him. He hadn't been expecting that. "So, is there a reason you came to see me?"  
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something." he had wanted to go on speaking, but his voice died.  
"Sure, what is it?" She was very willing to speak with him.  
"Well, um.okay. Look, we've been apart a long time, and." Again, he stopped talking. He was thinking this up as he went along, and really wasn't too sure what to say next. Joanie nodded her head, encouraging him to continue. "Anyway, we've been apart a long time, and, I've really missed you. I mean, I've been thinking about you non-stop for the longest time."  
"I've really missed you too," What? Did she just say that? She couldn't have.  
"What?"  
"I said I've really missed you too," So she had said it.  
"Well, I wasn't expecting that.. I'm still madly in love with you, and I can't live without you. The problem is, I just can't seem to live with you, either."  
"Right."  
"But, I've been thinking."  
"You wanna us to get back together?"  
"Yeah. How'd you know?"  
"Because I was thinking the exact same thing."  
"R-really?"  
"Yes, really."  
"Oh, well.I."  
"I mean, it's not that I ever didn't love you, things were just really bad for a really long time. But I realized, after we spent all of that time apart, that I'm really in love with you. I guess I just took that for granted before."  
"You did?"  
"Yeah, but, I realized I would never do that again."  
"So.you think things could really change between us?"  
"I see no reason why not," Sean sighed a sigh of relief. Things were going work out, after all. "Unless you don't want them to."  
"Please, this is all I've wanted for the longest time," he said, and he meant that with all his heart.  
"Me too," her voice was soft and he knew that she meant it.  
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, and then, he softly kissed her. His lips against hers created a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time, and a feeling she truly had missed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as his arms went around her, holding her close to him. He broke the kiss and gazed into her icy blue eyes and got lost for a moment, then his mouth took over hers in a kiss much more passionate than the first. Their tongues waged war inside their mouths, as Sean took hers hostage and gently sucked on it. She moaned in his mouth at this sensation. His lips moved to her neck, where he began kissing her.  
"I love you, Sean," her voice was both gentle and seductive.  
"I love you, too," he broke the kiss just long enough to say these words, and then kissed her again. Her arms now moved loosely around his waist, and her fingers began stroking his hip which he had injured a while back wrestling, back when their relationship was filled with nothing but nights like this. He moaned, and Joanie wasn't sure if it was from pain or pleasure, but assumed the latter.  
They continued kissing, and Sean then realized exactly how much he had missed this, had missed her. His hands began to feel up her body, and stopped as he reached her breasts. She looked at him and nodded her head.  
"We just get back together and that's all you can think about?"  
"Sorry," was Sean's only excuse, which was pathetic, but he was the happiest man in the world right now, and didn't care.  
She smiled at him once again and repeated, "I love you."  
"Love you, too."  
"There'll be time for that later. Besides, I wanna know all about what you've been doing lately."  
"Later? It's three in the morning! How much later do you want?"  
"Sorry," she said, feigning anger.  
"Anyway, what I've been doing lately. Hmmm. Oh yeah, I didn't tell you that I'm wrestling again!" Sean was very excited, until he realized it: he was wrestling again. We have such a busy schedule that who knows when we'll be anywhere near LA again? It could be years. Think about it, Sean. Years. He remembered Paul saying.  
"Wrestling? Where?"  
"WWE." he said, almost ashamedly.  
"Oh.I see. Well, where does this leave us?"  
"I dunno. I'll work it out, no matter what it takes. All right? We're gonna be together, that's my number one priority, that's all I care about."  
"Really? That's so sweet."  
"Trust me, things'll work out."  
"I believe you."  
  
The bright California sun blazed in through the open blinds and into Joanie's face. She moaned, and slowly, tiredly got out of bed to completely close them. She yawned and slipped back into bed. Then she remembered: Sean was here. She smiled; he was so beautiful when he was sleeping. He was so perfect; he had great looks, a kind, loving personality, and he was just an overall great person. These and so many more were the reasons that Joanie had fallen in love with him in the first place. Yet, it felt as though she were falling in love with him all over again: her heart pounded just seeing him, she got this warm, tingly feeling thinking about him. She wasn't sure when it had happened, but it had happened, and she was pleased with it. It was almost as though it were a new beginning for the two of them; a rebirth of their love.  
A muffled ringing was coming from the pile of clothes lying on floor by Sean's side of the bed. Joanie quickly and quietly hopped out of bed and grabbed the cell phone before it woke Sean up. She walked to her closet, put on a robe, and answered.  
"Hello?"  
"Hello? Sean?" Joanie felt a sinking feeling as the man on the other line spoke; it was her ex-boyfriend of at least five years, Paul. But that was okay; nothing could get her down today.  
"No, it's Joanie," there was a long pause on the other line. Figures.  
"Oh, hi.Is Sean there?" He asked anxiously.  
"Yes, but he's asleep right now. Can I take a message?" She queried, almost sarcastically.  
"So things went well then. No, I don't think that's necessary. Just tell him to call me back later."  
"Okay, bye."  
"Bye."  
"Who's on the phone?" Sean asked, rubbing his eyes.  
"Your favorite and mine, Paul."  
"Oh? What did he want?"  
"To see how things went."  
"And?"  
"He pretty much got the idea."  
"Good," Sean said, inching over to Joanie. He then proceeded to kiss her passionately. He pulled her on top of him, and they kissed again. Instead of pursuing things any further, she lay down on his chest, and listened to his steady heartbeat. He got the idea and wrapped his arms protectively around her.  
"You okay, babe?"  
"Yeah.it's just that.well, something's been bothering me since last night."  
"What is it?"  
"I know you said you were going to take care of it, but what are we gonna do about this whole you wrestling in the WWE thing? I mean, you're gonna be on the road forever, and we're never gonna see each other. I don't mean to be controlling or anything, but how are we supposed to maintain a good relationship between us when we never see each other?"  
"I know, I know. It's been bothering me too. And when I said that I'd take care of it, well, to be quite honest, I don't really know what to do. I mean, there's only one thing I can think of to solve all of this." Joanie cocked her head inquiringly, wanting to know what that one thing was, but Sean, instead of answering her, got out of bed, picked up his cell phone and hit redial.  
"Hello?" Paul sounded a little annoyed, probably partly because he had just been talking, and partly because he had just been talking to Joanie.  
"Hey, it's me."  
"Sean!" Now he sounded okay. "How are ya, man?"  
"Great."  
"You don't sound great."  
"That's because I'm about to make a decision I really don't wanna do, but have no alternative," he slowly moved to the hallway as he said this, away from Joanie so she didn't hear what he was discussing.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, first of all, Joanie and I are back together."  
"Congratulations! And to think, you thought things wouldn't work out."  
"I know; they did. But then I realized: Hey! You can't be on the road all year and be with her too! It just won't work."  
"Can't have your cake and eat it too."  
"Exactly. Then I thought of the best solution I could."  
"And that is?"  
"I'm leaving WWE."  
"What?!" Paul was awestruck.  
"Yeah, I have no choice. I just love Joanie way too much to not be with her. I mean, I'll get a job somewhere else where the schedule isn't so brutal."  
"But what about that big storyline you have going on right now?"  
"I'll finish it. I'll probably leave at the end of the month or something."  
"Okay. I don't want you to go, but okay."  
"I'll miss ya."  
"I'll miss ya too. But I understand why you're doing it."  
"Thanks. I just don't know what I'm gonna do until the end of the month, though."  
"I know! Bring Joanie with you!"  
"Really? You mean you don't mind?"  
"Well, I kinda do, but if I'm not gonna see ya for God knows how long, I'd rather see ya happy than all mopey."  
"Hey.well, okay. Nevermind. Can't really defend myself there."  
"Exactly. What are you gonna do about your little buddy?"  
"Who?"  
"Dave. Err, I hate him. Something about that man just rubs me the wrong way."  
"Newsflash: Paul hates everybody."  
"I do not."  
Sean shook his head as he returned back to the bedroom. "Anyway, I'll keep in touch with him."  
"And me? Because if you don't you'll be the next one on my hate list."  
"As you were on mine. Of course I'll keep in touch."  
"Good. Well, you coming in today or what?"  
"I dunno. Am I booked?"  
"How should I know?"  
"Right."  
"Okay, I guess I'll be there."  
"Good. And bring Joanie."  
"Of course."  
"Kay, see you then. Bye."  
"Bye." Sean closed up the cell phone and sat back down on the bed. Joanie lay beside him and traced a finger up and down his bare chest.  
"So, what was that all about?"  
"Well, I just got done talking to Paul, and it's official."  
"What's official?"  
"After this month, I'm out of the WWE."  
"Why? What happened? Did you get fired?" She asked concernedly.  
"No, no, no. Nothing like that. I'm leaving on purpose."  
"Why?"  
"To be with you."  
"Sean.I.I can't believe that.."  
"What? Are you mad?"  
"No..that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me before.." She was speechless. Now Sean was the one who seemed a little upset. "What's wrong, hon?"  
"I've done sweeter things than that for you before."  
"Like what?"  
"That's the thing: I can't think of any of them at the moment. Anyway, I'm leaving at the end of the month, so I gotta get going."  
"Oh, well, you guys aren't leaving LA tonight, are you? If not, you gotta come back and see me."  
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You're coming with me."  
"What? I am?"  
"Yeah," Sean said, now quickly packing up belongings for the both of them.  
"And Paul doesn't mind?"  
"He suggested it."  
"Oh, I see. Okay, then. Let's go!"  
  
"Wow, last night was really something, huh?" Dave asked Stacy that morning. They had been a little late arriving to the arena that morning, but he didn't care. If he had to deal with Paul.he wouldn't have to deal with Paul. He knew that for a fact.  
"Yeah, it really was," she said, kissing him softly. He wrapped his arm around her as they continued walking together.  
"Oh my God! Dave!" Sean called, running up to the two of them. He looked tired, and rushed, and Dave got a feeling that he had just arrived as well.  
"Hi, Sean. What happened to you?"  
"What do ya mean?"  
"Well, you look like you haven't slept in days."  
"I was a little busy last night, if ya know what I mean. But what about you? What are you doing with Stacy?"  
"We're together now."  
"I guess it's official then?" Stacy asked him.  
"Yup."  
"Thanks for running off without telling me," Joanie pretended to be angry.  
"You're Joanie, aren't you?" Dave asked excitedly.  
"Yes, I am. And you are?"  
"Dave Bautisa. Sean's told me so much about you."  
"Oh, well it's a pleasure to meet you. But how did you know my name without me telling you?"  
"I've kinda told that much that he would know who you are," Sean said.  
"Oh."  
"Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you as well. And this is my girlfriend Stacy Keibler."  
"Hi," she said, as the two shook hands.  
"Hi."  
"Wait, wait, wait. Dave, aren't you married?"  
"Yeah, but we're forgetting about that for a while."  
"Well, you two have that much in common," Joanie said.  
  
Paul decided that since life was finally going all right for a change, that it was more than time to patch things with his wife. He stood in front of the dressing room that was hers for the night and knocked without hesitation.  
"Yes?" She called, clearly unaware that it was her husband on the other side. He took that as in invitation to come in, and did just that. "Oh, it's you."  
"Good to see you too. Look, Steph. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of fighting with you, of pretending that things are okay around everybody else when they're really not! I'm sick of this! I want things to be okay with us. I mean, I don't even think you can remember what we're fighting about! I know I sure can't!" Paul hadn't sounded angry, he had sounded..anxious. Anxious to get this all over with; anxious for things to be okay again.  
"Too many things. And every time I see you, especially now, with you ranting and raving like a lunatic, it makes things even worse. Are you getting that?"  
"Fine. What can I do to make things okay again?"  
"Leave me alone." She outstretched her arm and finger toward the door, but not this time, uh-uh. This time, Paul wasn't budging.  
"No! Don't you see that that's not gonna solve anything! If we never see each other, nothing will ever get resolved!"  
"Yeah, well, things won't get resolved like this, either!" Now he had gotten her screaming.  
"I don't care! We have to work things out! We have to! I'm not gonna let our marriage die because of this!"  
"You know what, I don't need to take this, and I'm not going to! Get out! Get out now!"  
"No!"  
"Get out!" She screamed, and there were tears in her eyes. Paul didn't want to make things worse than they already were, and, even though he doubted that would make a bit of difference now, he turned and left. Stephanie sat there alone in her room crying.  
"Stephanie! Are you all right?" Matt asked, suddenly emerging into the room.  
"Matt! What are you doing here?"  
"Well, I was just passing by, and I heard screaming, and I thought something bad happened."  
"No, that's sweet of you, but I'm quite all right."  
"Then why are you crying? Is it Paul?" There was a long moment of silence. As much as it would've felt good, Stephanie didn't want to admit that Paul and her had just had possibly their worst fight yet to a near stranger. It wasn't fair. Matt seemed worried enough by this already, and it wasn't fair to drag him into this just because he was kind enough to care. However, as much as she hadn't wanted to, she couldn't hold it in anymore.  
"Yes!" She burst out crying. Matt wrapped his arms around her, more as a friend than anything else. It was an amazing feeling, his arms around her, and a feeling Stephanie knew she would never forget.  
"Aw, don't cry, Steph. Shh," he tried to comfort her, but it seemed useless. His two fingers gently went under her chin, where he propped her up and forced her to look at him. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her. Stephanie's heart skipped a beat as he did so. She couldn't believe had just done that. She couldn't believe that she had enjoyed that, but she had. She smiled at him and they kissed again and again.  
"That's it, Steph. I can't believe I had let you make me leave. We have to fix things, please," Paul sounded desperate, but as he rounded the corner and entered the doorway, he saw something he thought he would never see in his life: his cousin and his wife kissing. They both abruptly stopped once they heard Paul's voice. "Stephanie!" Paul yelled, his voice quivering as he spoke.  
"Paul, it's.it's not what it looks like. Really." Ah, the typical 'I'm cheating on you but I didn't mean to' response. She knew how pathetic it sounded, and it was.  
"Actually, it is," Matt corrected her, rubbing it in Paul's face. Paul wasn't sure exactly happened after that, nothing seemed real anymore. He felt as though he had died. He wanted to die. He remembered running, and slamming hard into Sean accidentally. He had no intention to stop and apologize, not in his awful condition, but Sean forcefully grabbed Paul's shoulder and stopped him.  
"Paul, what's going on?" He said, noticing the tears in his friend's eyes. He realized how embarrassing this must've been, with Joanie, Stacy, and Dave standing around. He pulled him away from his friends around the corner where it was just the two of them. Joanie had followed along too, but she was the least of Paul's problems right now.  
"It's Stephanie.she.she was kissing Matt!"  
"That's.that's."Sean's eyes looked to Joanie, then down to the floor.  
"Horrible," Joanie finished the sentence for him.  
"I know. On top of everything else. I.I.I just.I think I need some time alone."  
"Okay," Sean said, having nothing else to say and no other means to stop his best friend. He couldn't believe that Stephanie had stooped so low. Even through all of the problems that she and Paul had been having, the way she had decided to solve these problems was by cheating on him? Sean just couldn't comprehend the idea. Unless she had wanted an instant divorce, than there had to be something more to it. Sean doubted that she would want a divorce. Why would she want to lose some of her money to Paul? They must've been having extremely bad problems. He just wished that Paul had let him know what they were. But now, he highly doubted that that would occur.  
Paul was sitting in his dressing room, still unable to believe what he had seen. But he had seen it, it had happened, it was real. This was his reality now, and he simply had to deal with it. A knock on the door interrupted his thought process.  
"Whoever it is, go away!" He yelled, hoping that he sounded angry enough so that whoever was knocking would get the idea and take a hike.  
"Paul, it's me! Stephanie! We really need to talk about what just happened!" Now she wants to talk. Now. Well, it's a little too late now.  
"You're the last person in the world who I want to speak to or see!"  
"Paul, I know you're upset, but I can explain."  
"I don't see how! You were making out with my cousin, how else can you explain that?!" He was yelling now, not because she would be unable to hear him if he spoke at a normal tone, but because he was angry, and upset, and confused, and hurt, very hurt.  
"Ssh, please! Not so loud!" After everything that had gone down between them, all she cared about was nobody finding out of their problems. Well, everybody was going to find out now; they were bound to.  
"I can't believe that's all you care about!"  
"It isn't! Paul, please! Let me in! Let me talk to you!"  
"No! Go away!"  
"No, not until you talk to me!"  
"Well, that's not gonna happen."  
"Fine.I'll go," she said. Paul waited a long moment, and after hearing nothing, opened the door to see that she really was gone.  
  
Paul lay in the darkness, seeing nothing but blackness in the four walls that surrounded him. The hotel window had its blinds closed, and there were only thin strips of moonlight shining through. Paul had been lying there, tossing and turning and now looked at the time on the digital bedside clock on the nightstand: 3:45. Like you planned on sleeping anyway. Paul was just about to turn on the television, maybe watch something that could help to push back everything in his head, when the phone rang. He leaned over and answered it.  
"Hello?" He asked, sounding groggy, not because of sleep (even though he was exhausted), but because of how he felt. Today had drained all of his energy.  
"Hi, Paul, it's Sean," Sean sounded even more upset than he did. Paul figured that he and Joanie were having problems already.  
"What did Joanie do now?" Paul asked, trying to sound concerned. He couldn't believe the audacity of his best friend to call at this hour of the night complaining about his problems after he knew what Paul had been through today.  
"What? Joanie didn't do anything."  
"Oh. So what is it?"  
"It's Kevin. He was in a car accident."  
"Oh my God. Is he okay?" Paul's heart was racing and he said a silent prayer to himself.  
"No.Paul..he. died."  
  
~One Month Later~  
  
"Wow, I never thought I'd see Kev here so early," Mike said, tears in his eyes.  
"Me either," Sean agreed. Sean and Joanie, Mike and Paul, and Dave and Stacy were all standing around Kevin's grave. It was the first time they had come to see him since they heard of the accident.  
Paul had remembered it clearly: it was the night after he had saw Stephanie kissing his cousin Matt; he had been moping. Sean had called him; sounding worse than he ever had during his problems with Joanie, and Paul instantly knew that something horrible had happened. He just hadn't imagined how horrible. It was said later on that the roads had been icy that night; in fact, there had been a storm warning in the area. It was dark, and impossible to see any ice before one hits it, and Kevin's car had slid on the ice. Before he had had any time to react, he had slid into a ditch. Paul was told that he had died on impact.  
"I can't believe this is happening," Dave said.  
"Please, you hardly knew him," Paul said angrily.  
"Paul, please, not now," Sean begged, standing there in the cold with his arm wrapped around Joanie. Snow had fallen on the ground, which was now a disgusting sight to see, because it reminded them all of that night. The temperatures were so cold that one could see their own breath as they spoke. Paul only nodded his head in agreement.  
"This.is.I just can't believe that this happened. He didn't deserve it."  
"I know he didn't. It shouldn't have happened to him, but it did."  
"And now we're left to pick up the pieces," Mike stated. Sean and Paul both nodded.  
  
Paul stood there, and, like his friends (and with Dave, enemies), was freezing out in the cold by their dead buddy's tombstone. It was horrible, something Paul had never hoped to experience, especially so young. Paul almost felt guilty for thinking about Stephanie, and about what happened. He felt selfish.  
He couldn't help but realize, that no matter how hard he wanted it to be otherwise, this was his life now. This was how things would be everyday when he woke up: his wife hated him, one of the closest friends in his life was dead, and his best friend was leaving. Ah, life was so perfect, wasn't it... 


End file.
